THERE is a misconception about the brand, Ultra Racing, that they only provide racing accessories for the motorsports market.

This may have been true in the past, but Ultra Racing (M) Sdn Bhd now says it is selling life-saving vehicle stabilising bars to enhance the handling and stability of cars during corners or lane switching in everyday use.

This Malaysian company started manufacturing and selling stabilising bars 15 years ago, in 2002. Founded by Elson Tong, they started off in a small factory in Pandan Indah, with just a handful of staff.

Today, Ultra Racing has two manufacturing plants located in Semenyih and Cheras, with more than 100 employees.

In the past, the company focused on performance cars in the motorsports market and managed to establish a reputation for providing good quality stabilising bars that were reasonably priced.

The company started to focus on vehicle safety about three years ago by introducing the Vehicle Safety Bars range by Ultra Racing.

Lee said the accident and fatality rates in Malaysia kept increasing yearly, with many of the accidents caused by loss of vehicle control.

It is the company’s vision and mission to reduce the accident rates in Malaysia which will lead to a decrease in fatalities.

“There are a few possible causes for a car’s loss of control. Slippery road surfaces, driving with bald tyres, and avoiding objects on the road are some of the examples. Generally, losing control of a vehicle is due to either oversteering or understeering.

“This is where the Vehicle Safety Bars play a major role in reducing the chance of oversteering or understeering. Stage One of the safety bars include the front strut bar and rear anti-roll bar, that will help to stabilise the car during corners.

The Vehicle Safety Bars by Ultra Racing display rack.

Lee said that Stage One was priced below RM1000 for most of the models.

Lee said the installation of the Stage One safety bars would not stiffen the ride quality.

“Compared to lowering the car, once the ride is lowered by modifying or changing the absorbers and suspension, the ride will get harder and sometimes uncomfortable.

Lee said the products were well-received by customers and most of them would consider installing the safety bars immediately after buying their cars.

“Back then, the trend was that brand-new car buyers would only apply car coating to protect their car’s paint job after installing the car’s tinted film. Now, some brand-new car buyers come to install the safety bars right after installing the tinted film.

He said the bars went through a great deal of research and development, as well as stringent testing before their release to the market.

“The lifetime warranty covers the welding points and breaks which are not caused by accidents. Our safety bar philosophy is simple: we make sure it won’t damage the chassis and is very easy to install. It fits perfectly and is plug-and-play. All the mechanic needs to do is screw the bars in. No drilling is needed unless it is customised by the owners. Stage One installation usually won’t take more than 30 minutes,” he said.

Our car, before installation of the bars

Lee said that the full set of safety bars makes the car felt more planted and stable, as it strengthens the chassis.

“A full set of Vehicle Safety Bars ranges from 5- to 11-point bars, depending on the chassis model. It tightens the chassis and reduces the sound caused by the chassis, which normally happens after five years,” said Lee.

Lee said that the company distributes the safety bars to more than 20 countries in the world.

“We have more than 1,500 business partners nationwide. Nissan service centres, accessories shops, big and established tyre shops, continental car service centres, and some second-hand or used car dealers are selling the products,” he said.

“When most drivers buy a car, they often look at the power of the car. Don’t forget, power comes with handling. No matter how powerful the car is, they risk their lives if it doesn’t handle well,” Lee said.

The Drive

We managed to test the Stage One Vehicle Safety Bars by Ultra Racing and were impressed with the difference before and after installation.

Before installing the safety bars, we experimented with driving on a straight road with the speed below 40kph and gently turning the steering to the 11 o’clock and 1 o’clock positions repeatedly.

After installing the Stage One Vehicle Safety Bars, we took the car to the same road and did the same experiment. The improvements were felt immediately.

Very minimal movement was felt when we drove above 30kph and repeatedly turned the steering wheel to the 11 and 1 o’clock positions. The ride felt more planted and stable than before.

Less body roll occurred, even when taking the roundabout at above 30kph, We imagine the improvement would be greater with the installation of the full set of the safety bars. Don’t take our word for it. Go try it for yourself.